ESPN's Todd McShay says Cleveland Browns will draft Geno Smith

BEREA -- Mock NFL drafts in mid-April can be like a celebrity setting the trend in fashion; one well-known draft analyst makes a bold prediction and others follow suit.

Todd McShay of ESPN started a craze Thursday by painting a scenario in which the Browns take West Virginia quarterback Geno Smith with the sixth pick. Mel Kiper, McShay's cohort at ESPN, is not sold on Smith -- but he agrees Smith could be the Browns' choice. He even says the Browns could trade down five spots to acquire the 11th pick plus a second-rounder from the Chargers and still get Smith.

"You don't know," Kiper said during a conference call Wednesday. "Philadelphia is the pivotal team there [the Eagles pick fourth]. They could take Geno Smith. They could pass on Smith and then look at a quarterback like EJ Manuel in the early second round, which would put [Smith] there for Cleveland at six.

"If they don't feel Brandon Weeden's the guy -- Jason Campbell is a journeyman backup now -- do you look at Geno Smith? And that depends on their feelings about Geno Smith and how they feel about Weeden."

How the Browns feel about Weeden is the million dollar question. Coach Rob Chudzinski hopes to get an answer for it next week during a three-day veteran minicamp starting Tuesday. Chud, as a first-year head coach, gets one extra minicamp. He scheduled it before the draft to get an on-field look at all his players, but particularly Weeden.

The Browns last three head coaches -- Romeo Crennel, Eric Mangini and Pat Shurmur - all had issues at quarterback. Weeden was 5-10 as a rookie under Shurmur last season. If he is replaced for the season opener in September by Smith, Campbell (signed in free agency), or someone else, the replacement would be the Browns' seventh season-opening starter in as many years.

Smith passed for 4,205 yards with 42 touchdowns and only six interceptions last fall, yet skeptics abound. Kiper insists Smith, 6-2 3/8, 218 pounds, is not worthy of being picked in the first half of the first round, yet concedes he will go sooner just because he is a quarterback.

Nolan Narwocki, the draft analyst for Pro Football Weekly, says Smith has a strong arm to rifle the ball through tight windows, throws "a very catchable ball" and has "good escapability." But Narwocki has a scathing assessment of Smith's intangibles:

"Not a student of the game," Narwocki wrote in the Pro Football Weekly Draft Guide. "Nonchalant field presence -- does not command respect from teammates and cannot inspire. Mild practice demeanor -- not committed or focused. Marginal work ethic."

Ironically, Chudzinski and Browns CEO Joe Banner seemed to question Weeden's commitment and work ethic during interviews at the NFL Scouting Combine in February.

"I think (Smith) has the right kind of work ethic, and that's going to be obviously critical because you're coming out of a system at West Virginia, transitioning to the NFL," Kiper said. "People say, 'Well, he's going to have to make an adjustment.' Well, the bottom line is he saw the whole field. He read the whole field. So he's not limited in that area."

Kiper still has Smith going to the Eagles with the fourth pick and the Browns taking Oregon end/linebacker Dion Jordan sixth. He has the Lions taking Alabama cornerback Dee Milliner fifth.

McShay's mock draft has Jordan going second to Jacksonville and Smith going to the Browns four picks later.

"General manager Mike Lombardi hasn't hidden the fact that he was not a fan of the decision to pick QB Brandon Weeden in the first round in 2012, so Smith could very well be the pick here," McShay wrote to describe one of his scenarios.

McShay also wrote the Browns' first option would be to trade down and still draft Smith. He has the Jets taking Milliner with the ninth pick.

Mingo visits

LSU linebacker Barkevious Mingo and Missouri defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson visited the Browns on Wednesday, according to a league source.

Mingo would be an unlikely pick at six, but the Browns could be interested in him if they trade down a few spots and do not take Smith.